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REVIEWED: Sea To Summit Microfibre Pocket Towel

Just big enough to dry-down and save your modesty, this VERY compact towel is gold dust for lightweight travellers, hikers and cyclists

Price as reviewed: £10.99

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Love travel, hate luggage. If that’s you, you’ll already have realised that taking a just-in-case towel (most hotels give you a towel) can add as much as a kilo to your packing. Step forward the Sea To Summit Microfibre Pocket Towel, a tiny slab of microfibre that’s great for emergencies.

Great for long trips

We say emergencies, but it’s possible to use the Sea To Summit Microfibre Pocket Towel on long trips. Its 40x80cm isn’t going to do much more than make you dry – and this certainly isn’t a towel to lounge around in – but for in-out trips to the bathroom, it’s absolutely fine.

Small pouch

The Sea To Summit Microfibre Pocket Towel comes in a small pouch with a belt clip; the chances are it’s going to be attached to the outside of a bag. We also managed to stuff a wet Sea To Summit Microfibre Pocket Towel into the side mesh pocket of a backpack, where it dried over the course of a day.

Weighs 49g

When it’s dry, the Sea To Summit Microfibre Pocket Towel in its neoprene pouch weighs a paltry 68g, and just 49g on its own. The maker says it can absorb up to three times its weight in water, but we’re not convinced; in our test it got a right soaking (though successfully dried a man-sized person) and hence weighed 96g. That’s not bad – though we’re sure it couldn’t have take much more water; it was noticeably shedding droplets when shaken. But, unlike a lot of light travel gear, it’s really strong.

Dries in two hours

The bright blue (or Berry, Eucalyptus Green and Kiwi) colour of the Sea To Summit Microfibre Pocket Towel won’t ever seem dirty, though it’s easy enough to wash. It dries in about two hours when hung-up, and – best of all – it glides across the skin with a silky feel, unlike most micro fibre towels that tend to drag. It won’t be for everyone (long wet hair could seriously dent its abilities), but if you want to travel ultra-lite, the Sea To Summit Microfibre Pocket Towel is the kind of product you need to get closely acquainted with.